COMIC books â sealed in plastic or not â were only the beginning. By 1991, Dark Horse had set up a unit to develop toys and later began a film division and a publishing imprint for decidedly noncomics products, including collections of Playboy interviews and a series of novels chronicling the early years of Tony Montana, the character played by Al Pacino in the 1983 film âScarface.â?

Today, Dark Horse is the third-largest publisher, behind the much larger Marvel and DC, in the direct market, which includes the specialty shops that cater to comic book fans. That market produced more than $500 million in sales last year, according to Milton Griepp, the publisher and founder of ICv2, an online trade publication that covers pop culture for retailers.

The story is accompanied by a CONCRETE comic, which you can view by clicking on the “multi-media slideshow” link.

I go to Mike Richardson, the guy who owns the company, and if he says he wants to proceed with something, that’s it. End of discussion. I can’t tell you how refreshing that can be. Even one level down, his editors can go to Mike and then call you back and say, “Mike approved it” or even that he didn’t. Either way, you’re not left dangling for months. It’s a fine operation, and I say that as someone who isn’t known for speaking excessively well of publishers, even some who’ve had the wisdom to employ me.

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Darn, I was hoping it’d be new Concrete, but that’s some great exposure for the most underrated comic of all time. I’ve loved Dark Horse for a long time, but they became pretty much the Star Wars/Manga publisher for the past decade or so. They used to do more with some of the “quirkiest” creators around.

Someday there should be a “Mike Richardson Award” granted to editors and publishers of comics demonstrating outstanding ethics, vision, and professionalism toward creators.

It would be a short list, I know, and maybe there would be some years no one gets the award. But who knows, maybe a bit of public love directed towards the best of the best will impel others to do better.